It has been refreshing.

I have enjoyed following Coca-Cola over the course of this semester. I have learned a lot about the company itself, and where it all started. I would definitely work for Coca-Cola. They have a very solid company that has seen a continual growth for decades, and I believe that their growth will continue through product line expansion. They have been active in acquiring other firms which has expanded their product line to consist of not only sodas, but also juice, water, energy drinks, etc.

The only advice I would give to Coca-Cola is to continue to look into future changes. From what we learned in this course, too many executives focus on present issues instead of looking at what the future may bring. I believe Coca-Cola's management is trying very hard to look at future possibilities by their 2020 vision they have put into place.

I could not end this blog without posting a picture (have you noticed this trend?). Since Christmas time is around the corner, I found this picture to only be appropriate. Instead of leaving Santa milk and cookies, why not leave him some Coca-Cola this year? He seems to like it...

If I had invested in Coca-Cola...

This graph is provided by Yahoo Finance and shows how Coca-Cola's stock has performed over the last six months. If I had decided to purchase two shares on the first day of class (August 19), I would have paid $109.38 ($54.69 per share). The highest peak during this semester happened on August 21 when Coke's stock was $55.58 per share. The lowest peak during this semester happened on November 12 when Coke's stock was $44.04. If I cashed out yesterday (December 7), I would have received $107.36 ($53.68 per share). Therefore, over the course of this semester, I would have lost $2.02. This isn't necessarily a bad thing, since it is a short-term investment.

It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas...

Call me crazy, but my Christmas tree is up, all the shopping is done, the presents are wrapped, and I am ready for Christmas! After all, it is only 25 days away...

This is the time of year when we see Santa Claus in many of Coca-Cola's advertisements, including on their products. The Coca-Cola Santa Claus that the world would grow to love was created by Haddon Sundblom. According to Coca-Cola, "For inspiration, Haddon Sundblom turned to Clement Clark Moore's 1822 poem "A Visit from St. Nicholas" (commonly called 'Twas the Night Before Christmas). Moore's description of St. Nick led to an image of Santa that was warm, friendly, pleasantly plump and human. For the next 33 years, Sundblom painted portraits of Santa that helped to create the modern image of Santa -- an interpretation that today lives on in the minds of people of all ages, all over the world."

The picture above was the debut of the Coca-Cola Santa in 1931 in the Saturday Evening Post. The slogan "the pause that refreshes" quickly became a traditional trademark in Coca-Cola's advertisements.

This advertisement was created in 1936 and shows Santa Claus playing with the toys he had just delivered (while, of course, enjoying a Coke).

This advertisement has to be my favorite among the Santa Claus series. In 1964, the Coca-Cola Santa plays with a brother and sister and their new gift -- a dog. The dog was based on a gray poodle that belonged to the florist in Sunblom's neighborhood; he changed the color to black to make the animal stand out.

Amidst this busy holiday season, be sure you take advantage of "the pause that refreshes."

You won't find Coke at Costco

I saw this interesting headline on MSN today, and I had to post about it.

Due to pricing disputes, Costco is refusing to sell Coca-Cola products for the time being. There are no details available, but I'm wondering if other large corporations are tempted to quit selling Coca-Cola products as well.

I remember a local Wal-Mart that quit selling Pepsi products for a while, but they eventually resumed. This would also be a good time to bring up that Murray State's Campus was (and might still be, I'm no longer on-campus) a Coke-free campus. This was due to Pepsi offering a great deal to MSU if they agreed to no longer sell Coke products. I certainly remember the uproar this brought on-campus when all of the Coca-Cola vending machines disappeared! Does anyone else remember this?

You can find the article regarding Costco and Coca-Cola here.

Closing Stock Prices

I realized that I haven't posted anything regarding Coke's stock prices. I created a graph to depict what has been happening since August, but I am unable to pull the Excel graph into my blog. What a shame!!

Coca-Cola saw their highest closing stock price (dating back to when we started class, August 19, 2009) on August 21, 2008 at $55.58. The lowest closing stock price within this date range occurred on November 12, 2009 at $44.04. My wonderful graph that I can't show you clearly indicates a gradual decline over the last 3 months. I did some research to see why the stock prices have been declining and I learned that it is due to the economy's current state. The most profitable companies have seen a decline this year, so this doesn't come as a surprise. This hasn't only been a domestic issue, but it has been worldwide. Russia and Eastern Europe has been in a double digit decline over the last couple of quarters. Consumer recovery is expected, but it is going to be slow. For more information, check out CNBC's article.

Coca-Cola's Strategy

We are building on our fundamental strengths in marketing and innovation, driving increased efficiency and effectiveness in interactions with our system and generating new energy through core brands that focus on health and wellness.

This is what Coca-Cola's strategy is according to their website. They have their goals set on creating new ways to share beverages, anticipating community's needs, and marketing their product line. These long-term goals are set in order to achieve long-term growth and allow careers to flourish. Coca-Cola is innovating and marketing in such a way where they are the world's most recognized family of brands and will likely continue to be for generations to come.

One of their goals has always been to be environmentally friendly. Since I like to include pictures in these posts, I thought I'd share this one with you. I think more delivery trucks need to become more environmentally friendly. I'm happy to see this...

Tax on Soda?

Muhtar Kent, CEO of Coca-Cola

We have all heard of cigarettes being taxed, but have you ever thought that sodas could be taxed? It is an idea that Congress and President Barack Obama are considering. Obviously, Coca-Cola is against this proposal. The CEO of Coca-Cola wrote "Coke Didn't Make America Fat" regarding this topic.

The CEO states that since the 1970s, the average caloric intake due to sodas has decreased by 25% thanks to products like Diet Coke and Coke Zero. There are two states (Arkansas and West Virginia) who already have tax on sodas, and they have the highest rates of obesity in the nation. This tax doesn't seem to be very effective there... so why would it be effective everywhere else?

The World of Coca-Cola

I have always wanted to visit The World of Coca-Cola located in Atlanta, Georgia. Although I have not been able to go yet, I wanted to do a little research about this very unique place.

The "new" World of Coca-Cola opened in May of 2007. There are more than 1,200 artifacts from around the world that have never been seen before. They have a 4-D movie theater and gallery that is dedicated to Coke and pop culture. A bottling line fills bottles of Coke before visitors eyes. Last but not least, there is a chance to sample more than 60 different products from around the world.

It is located at Pemberton Place (along with the Georgia Aquarium and The Center for Civil and Human Rights) across from the Centennial Olympic Park. Pemberton Place was named after John Pemberton, the pharmacist who invented Coca-Cola in 1886.

It takes an average of 90 minutes to go through the entire World of Coca-Cola. It is open 7 days a week and it only closes on Easter, Thanksgiving, and Christmas. General admission tickets are $15 for adults, $13 for seniors, $10 for children, and free for toddlers 2 and under.

Sustainability

Coca-Cola values the relationship they have with their employees. They want their workplaces to be based on recognized workplace human rights, where all employees are valued and inspired to be the best they can be.
The Workplace Rights Policy that Coca-Cola follows addresses the following issues:

Freedom of Association and Collective Bargaining
Forced Labor
Child Labor
Discrimination
Work Hours and Wages
Safe and Healthy Workplace
Workplace Security
Community and Stakeholder Engagement

You can read Coca-Cola's Workplace Rights Policy here.

Acquisitions

Coca-Cola has had many acquisitions over the years. A few of these being: Energy Brands known as Glaceau, fortified water brands such as VitaminWater, and Fuze teas. Coke had recently wanted to acquire Huiyuan Juice group in China which did not go through due to a denial from the China Ministry of Commerce. However, Coca-Cola is still holding a presence in China and is planning to open a plant and distribution centerin China as well as help build schools and libraries.

Coca-Cola has certainly used acquisitons to diversify their product line even further. The product line has grown from just soft drinks to water, tea, coffee, energy drinks, and even juice. It can definitely be said that there's "something for everyone" in Coca-Cola's product line.

Broad Differentiation

The competitive strategy that Coca-Cola follows in their main business is the broad differentiation strategy. This strategy is most attractive whenever buyers' needs and preferences are too diverse. Everyone has different tastes and in any room of people, you will find that some are lovers of soda and some are not. Some love coffee and some do not. We are very diverse in our likes and dislikes, and Coca-Cola recognizes these differences.

The evidence that supports the broad differentiation strategy is that Coca-Cola focuses on tastes preferences. Due to the diverse population, Coca-Cola offers products from one spectrum to the other. They offer soda, water, juice, energy, and coffee products. At lease one segment of their extensive product line will appeal to everyone. This is the essence of broad differentiation - to be unique in ways that are valuable to a wide range of customers.

Outsourcing

Even though Coca-Cola is highly successful in their business, the decision makers of the company decided that they did not have the time or the expertise to produce its own bottles. Coca-Cola was able to license a group of bottlers to bottle the product so that the company could focus on product quality and growing market share.
By allowing an independent bottling company to produce the bottles, Coca-Cola was able to perform better and even at a lower overall cost. The quality control necessary for the bottles needed to be focused on moreso than Coca-Cola was able to provide, so outsourcing was an excellent alternative. Coca-Cola was then able to focus on the quality control of the actual beverage and work on marketing all of Coca-Cola's products to the world.

5 Interesting Facts About Coke

It happens nearly 1.6 billion times a day. That moment of “ahhh,” the simple pleasure of refreshment (This is what McDonalds has been referring to as "The Coke Reflex" on their commercials).

In 1886, consumers enjoyed an average of nine servings of our Company’s products per day. Today, consumers enjoy nearly 1.6 billion servings per day.

Plants throughout our system have begun rinsing beverage packages using ionized air instead of water to further reduce the water used in our manufacturing process, while maintaining quality and increasing our overall water efficiency.

During World War II, 5 billion bottles of Coca-Cola were sent to service persons and 64 bottling plants were established to quench the troops’ thirst and remind them of home.

Our sponsorship of the Beijing 2008 Olympic Games was the most successful sponsorship in Company history, contributing to 19 percent unit case volume growth in China in 2008.

The Mission & Vision

Coca-Cola's Mission includes three simple phrases:
* To refresh the world   *To inspire moments of optimism and happiness   *To create value and make a difference

Coca-Cola has put together a roadmap to focus on how they can continue to be successful long-term. They call this roadmap their 2020 Vision.

According to Coca-Cola's website, this is their 2020 Vision:
People: Be a great place to work where people are inspired to be the best they can be.

Portfolio: Bring to the world a portfolio of quality beverage brands that anticipate and satisfy people's desires and needs.

Partners: Nurture a winning network of customers and suppliers, together we create mutual, enduring value.

Planet: Be a responsible citizen that makes a difference by helping build and support sustainable communities.

Profit: Maximize long-term return to shareowners while being mindful of our overall responsibilities.

Productivity: Be a highly effective, lean and fast-moving organization.

Most Valuable Brand

I noticed this link on MSN's homepage today, and I had to share with everyone. Please click here.

It certainly does not surprise me that some insurance/financial companies has fallen off the list of Most Valuable Brands with the financial crisis that is happening.

Of course, I was very happy to see Coca-Cola at the top of the list! Let me know what you think of the updated list.

Absorbed by Coke

My husband and I went to the first NFL game of the season last weekend to see the Tampa Bay Buccaneers play the Dallas Cowboys at Tampa. As I was sitting in the stadium, I couldn't help but notice how surrounded I was by Coca-Cola advertisements. I took a few pictures since I obviously had this blog on the brain... (we were rooting for the Buccaneers and they ended up losing 34-21, in case you were wondering). Can you find Coca-Cola (or just a Coca-Cola product) in each picture?
     

                                  

Demographics to Smile About

Across all nations, lifestyles and ages, Coca-Cola is witnessing tremendous opportunities to refresh and nourish people. Their presence around the world provides them with valuable insights into the demographics of people, economies, as well as social trends in each of their markets. This knowledge allows them to monitor their growth effectively and efficiently.

It is believed that over the next decade, the positive demographic trends will help fuel their continued growth even more. Brazil, China, India and Turkey are markets where Coca-Cola is an industry leader and continue to experience strong growth. In 2008, they grew their unit case volume 7% in Brazil, 19% in China, 14% in India and 15% in Turkey. Other emerging markets are likely to see strong growth, especially since Coca-Cola is still providing new products that are proving to be successful.

To Refresh the World...

The Coca-Cola Company was established in 1886. The original Coke product was first sold at a pharmacy for five-cents a glass where approximately nine glasses were sold each day. Coke became portable in 1894 when it was first put into bottles.

In 1900, there were two bottlers of Coca-Cola. By 1920, there were 1,000 bottlers of Coca-Cola. In 1928, it became a part of the Olympic Games. When America entered World War II in 1941, President Woodruff ordered that “every man in uniform gets a bottle of Coca-Cola for 5 cents, wherever it is, and whatever it costs the Company.” The international appeal of this brand was embodied by a 1971 commercial where a group of young people from all over the world gathered on a hilltop in Italy to sing "I'd Like to Buy the World a Coke."

In the 1980s Diet Coke was introduced and “new Coke.” This new version of Coke was later determined to be the biggest marketing mistake ever. After fans of the original Coke formula begged for the old version to return, it did with a new addition to its name, Coca-Cola Classic.

In the 1990s, the advertising campaign “Always Coca-Cola” was introduced as well as the now familiar polar bears. Today Coca-Cola is focused on what people from different cultures and backgrounds want to drink, and where and how they want to drink it.

According to 2008 statistics, consumers in more than 200 countries enjoy Coca-Cola products at a rate of 1.6 billion servings a day. Coca-Cola offers products that some may not even recognize as being a “Coke” product. Some of these products include: Fanta, Dasani, VitaminWater, Powerade, Minute Maid, and Georgia Coffee.
                   

Today Coca-Cola offers more than 3,000 products, their net operating revenues are approximately $32 billion, and there are more than 92,000 associates working for Coca-Cola.

Always Coca-Cola

I have chosen to follow Coca-Cola because it's been a favorite in our family for generations. I have always wanted to learn more about the company itself, and I figured this would be a great way to do this. I am going to start doing some research to provide a basic background of Coca-Cola to everyone so we have a solid foundation to build from. So... sit back, relax, and enjoy Coca-Cola!